Seascapes or marine paintings are historically a very ancient genre of art – at least, if ‘portraits’ of single boats are included – going back for c.10-12,000 years BC to pictograms of boats engraved upon rocks. Similarly, classical Greek vase paintings from the 5th century BC illustrated the myths of Jason and Odysseus through ships and stylized glimpses of the sea; these celebrated the pioneering spirit of man, and his ability to undertake long journeys and to trade with distant countries.

The story of the Trojan wars is thought to be a metaphor for a trade war between Greece and modern Turkey. Coastal paintings were more common in Egyptian and Roman art, although Roman ships might be shown in mosaics surrounded by sea creatures rather than by land. Like coastal paintings, seascapes came into their own as a genre particularly through the work of Dutch artists in the 17th century. The Netherlands were small in terms of land, and based their ambitions for power, trade and colonization on their sea-going capabilities. These led, perhaps inevitably, to wars with larger maritime countries such as Spain; and thus Dutch seascape paintings include a large sub-genre of sea battles, frequently portrayed with great realism and naturalistic effects of weather. Willem van de Velde (c.1611-93) was, in fact, the official war artist of the Dutch navy.

The Van de Veldes introduced the art of marine painting to Britain – both the sea battle and the sophisticated rendering of weather and tidal effects at sea – paving the way for artists such as Samuel Scott, and later Turner. Mark Mitchell’s collection includes images of the modern replacement for sea battles in Western Europe – the sea-going festivals and races centred on places such as Cowes. It also includes scenes where boats are far less important than the carefully-observed conditions of climate, weather and time of day, expressed through the skies and ocean.